Anyone here own a Tamiya Clodbuster? I am thinking of getting a kit.

[ferrebee88]

I am really thinking about getting the black edition builders kit to try and build with my daughter. Ill probably pick up a set of fast eddy bearings to go with it. Anything else to look out for? I know what this truck is meant for and I will be happy with it for it's intended purpose!

 

[PonkyKong]

No. Grab the new JConcepts kit.
https://jconcepts.net/reactor

It's the newest in that family of monster truck

 

[biggman100]

I would look for something better. The Clod Buster, like most of Tamiya's stuff, is filled with issues. 4 wheel steering that acts up without warning, crappy suspension (the stock shocks absolutely suck, and, definitely need to be upgraded), weak gears in the diff, sloppy steering links, servo's that need to be relocated (to get the 4 wheel steering to work properly, the servo's need to be directly attached to the axles, which requires a $15 adapter kit for each axle, plus the servo's), and the list goes on. By the time you're finished with upgrades and dealing with all the problems, you will be $600+ into it just to make it worthwhile to use. For that kind of money, you would be much better off with a JConcepts Reactor, or a Tekno MT48. Over the years, I've owned a lot of Tamiya stuff, and, frankly, most of them were shelf queens I bought just because I like building them, but most are barely useable in stock, out of the box, condition.

 

[ferrebee88]

No. Grab the new JConcepts kit.
https://jconcepts.net/reactor

It's the newest in that family of monster truck

I actually have the Jconcepts Reactor 13" wheelbase version on pre-order at my local hobby shop. I was just curious to build the truck that started the whole monster truck thing.

 

[ferrebee88]

I would look for something better. The Clod Buster, like most of Tamiya's stuff, is filled with issues. 4 wheel steering that acts up without warning, crappy suspension (the stock shocks absolutely suck, and, definitely need to be upgraded), weak gears in the diff, sloppy steering links, servo's that need to be relocated (to get the 4 wheel steering to work properly, the servo's need to be directly attached to the axles, which requires a $15 adapter kit for each axle, plus the servo's), and the list goes on. By the time you're finished with upgrades and dealing with all the problems, you will be $600+ into it just to make it worthwhile to use. For that kind of money, you would be much better off with a JConcepts Reactor, or a Tekno MT48. Over the years, I've owned a lot of Tamiya stuff, and, frankly, most of them were shelf queens I bought just because I like building them, but most are barely useable in stock, out of the box, condition.

That is a good point. I already know there would be issues. Knowing me though, I wouldn't be able to leave well enough alone and I would end up putting a bunch of money into it to polish a turd. The price they want for those does seem pretty high for what you actually get. I guess it's the price of nastalgia.

 

[biggman100]

That is a good point. I already know there would be issues. Knowing me though, I wouldn't be able to leave well enough alone and I would end up putting a bunch of money into it to polish a turd. The price they want for those does seem pretty high for what you actually get. I guess it's the price of nastalgia.

Tamiya's biggest issue, in my opinion, is that they seem to have basically the mindset that RC cars and plastic models are pretty much the same thing, and, because of it, they don't really seem to put as much effort into the RC side of things as they could. If you look at the instructions for a model, and an rc car, they are some similarities, things that you don't see as much from other kits, like all the trimming, and filing, and sanding after cutting parts off the sprues. That may be a good thing for us though, since, if they started putting serious thought into the RC side, the price would probably be astronomical. Cars might be better though, so, it may be a worthwhile trade off. I have heard people say they aren't much better than toy grade stuff in a lot of ways, and, in some ways, I agree.

 

[xjtorc]

I am really thinking about getting the black edition builders kit to try and build with my daughter. Ill probably pick up a set of fast eddy bearings to go with it. Anything else to look out for? I know what this truck is meant for and I will be happy with it for it's intended purpose!

I've owned several of them over the years. They are so much fun in stock form. You nailed it on bearings as being the only real "necessity upgrade".

If I were to build a stock Clod today, knowing what I know, I would not use the stock steering setup. The stock setup is just completely whack-a-do and the truck wanders all over the place.

I was looking on Crawford Performance Engineering's site and it looks like the over axle servo mounts are out of stock, but if you shoot him an e-mail or message on social media, he'll respond and help you out.

It ends up being a little pricey to mod the steering but it really makes the clod that much more fun to drive. In stock form it's just way too loose and wanders no matter how strong of a servo you use.

There are also numerous linkage and lockout options if you wanted to do away with the rear steer altogether:

CPE Clod Steering Options

 

[biggman100]

I've owned several of them over the years. They are so much fun in stock form. You nailed it on bearings as being the only real "necessity upgrade".

If I were to build a stock Clod today, knowing what I know, I would not use the stock steering setup. The stock setup is just completely whack-a-do and the truck wanders all over the place.

I was looking on Crawford Performance Engineering's site and it looks like the over axle servo mounts are out of stock, but if you shoot him an e-mail or message on social media, he'll respond and help you out.

It ends up being a little pricey to mod the steering but it really makes the clod that much more fun to drive. In stock form it's just way too loose and wanders no matter how strong of a servo you use.

There are also numerous linkage and lockout options if you wanted to do away with the rear steer altogether:

CPE Clod Steering Options

You can get the servo mounts pretty much anywhere anymore. Here's one from Amazon:

https://a.co/d/0gARKFCA

And, this one is from eBay:

https://ebay.us/m/TlSNfA

Some LHS sometimes have them as well. One of the two I have been to in upstate NY had them.

 

[xjtorc]

Some LHS sometimes have them as well. One of the two I have been to in upstate NY had them.

That's pretty awesome. Clod stuff is nearly impossible to come by in person around here.

 

[C life]

I am really thinking about getting the black edition builders kit to try and build with my daughter. Ill probably pick up a set of fast eddy bearings to go with it. Anything else to look out for? I know what this truck is meant for and I will be happy with it for it's intended purpose!

They are super fun stock, bearings are definitely a great upgrade. I have like 20 of them in various forms. I built an old esp z2 for my son, locked out the rear steering, zrp retro servo mount, bearings decent eco power servo and some jconcepts tributes and firestorm tires oil filled shocks and some trinity midnight motors.

 

[ferrebee88]

They are super fun stock, bearings are definitely a great upgrade. I have like 20 of them in various forms. I built an old esp z2 for my son, locked out the rear steering, zrp retro servo mount, bearings decent eco power servo and some jconcepts tributes and firestorm tires oil filled shocks and some trinity midnight motors.

View attachment 271839

Very nice looking rig! I am currently building the Jconcepts Reactor, but I may still build an Clodbuster just to see how it all started!

 

[C life]

Very nice looking rig! I am currently building the Jconcepts Reactor, but I may still build an Clodbuster just to see how it all started!

Nice, I seen that new kit. I built the regulator when that first came out at couple years back. It was engineered well.